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(No Model.)

W. E. SNEDIKBR. VISB Patented ar. 16, 1897.

Parent much...

IVILLIAM E. SNEDIKER, OF JERSEY CITY, NEWV JERSEY.

\IISE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,022, dated March16, 1897.

Application filed October 1896.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that IJVILLIAM E. SNEDIKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at J ersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented an Improvement in Vises, of which the following isa specification.

Vises have heretofore been made with jaws carried by two arms or leverspivoted together at their lower ends, and one of these jaws has usuallybeen fastened rigidly to a bench and the other jaw set up by a screw,and the screw in some instances has passed through a not carried at oneend of an open link or sling through which the lever portions of thejaws pass, and the back end of this sling or link has been sustained byone of a series of steps.

The present invention relates to a vise of the general character beforementioned; and it consists in the details of construction whereby theparts are more easily made and put together and more efficient inoperation.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially in section,representing my improved vise; and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan at theline at w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the crosskey and some rack-teethsectionally and in larger size. Fig. l is a section of the straps at thecross-key.

The jaws A and B are of any desired size or shape, and from these thejaw-levers A 3 extend downward, and usually there is a bar or post Apassing from the lower end of the jaw-lever A down to the floor, and thebasepiece or bracket A extends out from the jaw A and rests upon a benchor other support for holding the Vises in position, and the side plates0, permanently connected to the jawlever A, receive between them thelower end of the jaw-lever B, and a pivot-bolt D connects the partstogether and allows the jaw B to be swung away from the jaw A. Inconstructing Vises of this character the faces of the jaws are usuallyof steel and the bodies of the jaws and the jaw-levers are of malleablecast-iron or of wrought-iron.

I have found that in the annealing opera: tion by which the cast-iron isrendered malleable the metal in the inner portions of the jaw-levers isnot uniformly acted upon, and hence remains in the condition ofcast-iron,

Serial No. 608,205. (No model.)

and the j aw-levers are liable to break in consequence of the lack ofhomogeneity in the metal. To avoid this difliculty, I make thejaw-levers in the shape represented in Fig. 2, similar to the letter Hin cross-section, so that the metal is of nearly uniform thickness, andthe annealing operation renders'the jawlevers tough an d uniform instrength throughout their length, and I am enabled to make use of thisshape of jaw-lever because both jaw-levers are substantially alike andthere are not any openings through the jaw-levers for the passage of theclampingscrew employed in the ordinary vise.

The strap E extends at both sides of the j aw-levers, and the nutportion E at the front end of the strap receives through it the screw F,that acts against the lever portion of the jaw 13, and the straps E passback at opposite sides of the stepped incline or rack G, behind thejaw-lever A, and there is a cross-key H, passing through mortises in thestraps E, and there are projecting screws from the ends of the cross-keyH, receiving upon them the nuts l, by which the cross-key is held inplace, and the ends of the straps E are connected together.

The back edges of the steps or rack in the stepped incline G arepreferably rounding, and the front edge of the cross-key His shaped tofit the rounded edges of the steps. This prevents the cross-key fromslipping off one step onto the next when pressure is applied and rendersthe parts much more durable and reliable than in cases where the edgesof the stepped incline are flat, and by this construction the parts caneasily be put together or taken apart by the simple removal of one ofthe nuts 4: and the cross-key H. The rackteeth and cross-key in theirpreferred form are shown in Fig. 3.

I make use of a screw or pin I in a slot in one of the straps E toprevent the straps and nut dropping down when slackened, and the lengthof the slot for the pin I is sufficient for allowing the movement of thejaw B under the action of the screw F when an article is being clampedbetween the jaws. The pin may be below the strap, as seen by dottedlines, Fig. 1.

It will be observed that when the jaw B is swung open on its pivot-boltD the straps E ICO will remain nearly at right angles to the jawlever Band the cross-key H will be in position to take the steps of the steppedincline or rack, or nearly so, up to the limit of the opening movement,and this results from the stepped incline being described as an arc of acircle, or nearly so, from the pivot-bolt D, and in consequence of thisconstruction the screw F acts substantially at right angles to thejaw-lever B when such lever is either fully opened or closed or in anyintermediate position.

In consequence of the jaw-lever B swinging upon its pivot-bolt the faceof the jaw B will not be parallel with the face of the jaw A and suchjaws will not set closely against the opposite sides of a parallelarticle that may be introduced between them. To rectify this difficulty,the face of the jaw B is grooved as an arc of a circle, and the jaw-faceK is made of a separate piece with a cylindrical segmental surfacefitting the recesses. This allows the jaw-face to accommodate itself tothe surface of the article that is being held between the jaws, and inorder to prevent the jaw-face K from dropping when the vise is open itis advantageous to provide ears 5 at the ends of the jaw B,with pinspassing loosely through the ears and into the j aw-face K, such jaw-pins coinciding with the axis of the cylindrical segment, or nearlyso. Hence the jawface can be moved so as to be parallel to the face ofthe stationary jaw or to set against an article introduced between thejaws.

The spring usually employed to swing the moving jaw extends up betweenone jaw and the other and often is in the way of articles introduced inthe vise. I make a toe upon the moving-j aw lever above the pivot andeX- tending nearly to the stationary-jaw lever and provide a recess inthe same to receive an expansive helical spring, as shown at L. Thisleaves the space above the toe and between the jaw-levers free andclear, and the spring is protected from injury. The angle or shape ofthe stepped incline G may be varied.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with the jaws and jawlevers,of straps extending one at each side of the jaw-levers, a nut portionuniting the front ends of the straps and a movable crosskey near theback ends of the straps, and a stepped incline or rack behind thestationary jaw, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the jaws and jawlevers in a vise, of strapsextending at the sides of the jaw-levers united by a nut portion at thefront end, a screw passing through such nut portion and acting upon themovable jaw, a cross-pin in mortises through the straps and nuts forholding the cross-pin in position, and a stepped incline or rack behindthe stationary jaw for receiving the cross-key, substantially as setforth.

3. The malleable-iron jaws and jaw-levers, each jaw-lever being H-shapedin section, in combination with straps passing at the sides of thejaw-levers, there being a nut uniting the outer ends of the straps, across key through the straps near their rear ends and a stepped inclineor rack engaging the crosskey, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the stationaryand pivoted jaws and theirjaw-levers, of straps passing at each side of the jaw-levers and havinga nut uniting their front ends, a crosskey through the rear portions ofthe straps, and a stepped incline or rack having rounded edges to theteeth, the front edge of the crosskey fitting the rounded edges of theteeth, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the stationary jaw and its jaw-lever, of amoving jaw and its pivoted j aw-lever, straps passing at each side ofthe jaw-levers and united at their outer ends by a nut, a screw passingthrough such nut, a stepped incline behind the stationary jaw, across-key passing through the straps near their rear ends, and a pin orscrew for supporting the strap upon the moving jaw, substantially as setforth.

Signed by me this 1st day of October, A. D. 9

W. E. SNEDIKER. Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, S. T. HAVILAND.

